The Day She Came
by MaeBTrubble
Summary: Jasper Hale has been on his own ever since his best friends, Edward and Alice, moved across town when he was just seven. When they come back Jasper has grown out of his kindergarten crush for Alice, and has his sights on the new girl. Too bad she wants nothing to do with him. Can Jasper get closer to the new girl, or will he give in to Alice?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, I'm not a great writer, and I'm constantly having to go back and edit it for stupid errors, so if you're reading this and are like "When did this happen?" Just send me a review, and I'll fix it for you. **

* * *

**JPOV**

I've never understood why people expect you to do things for them simply because they've done something for you. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind helping out friends, but it's a favor, not an obligation. But for some reason, I didn't mind doing it for her.

It all started when I was seven. I had grown up with not only my family, but this other family across the street, the Masen-Brandon family. Alice and Edward were step-brother and step-sister, but they were still as close as Rosalie and I. They even looked alike. Edward had light green eyes, and Alice's were hazel, a mix of green and brown. The only major difference was their hair. Alice always had long, brown hair, but she despised it, because it made her look like everybody else. Edward had a weird color that was strangely like a penny. Rosalie and I both had long blonde hair and blue eyes. We were the best of friends since before we even started school, right up until our high school graduation, but in the first grade, when I was seven, they had moved to Port Angeles. It wasn't too far away, but I definitely missed them. I think the move hit Rosie the hardest. Afterwards, she became bitter. She'd never had many girlfriends, because the girls envied her beauty, but Alice gave her hope. And you could always tell that Edward had a crush on her. I don't know if she liked him too, but Rosalie loved attention, and the move took the attention away from her.

To cheer us up, my parents had gotten us a puppy. We named her Mary, because that was Alice's real name, and I had always had a small crush on her. Rose didn't want anything to do with Mary, other than cuddling when her when she needed to look cute, whether it was to get something she wanted or to get herself out of trouble. That left me to do all the work. I walked her every day, fed her, bathed her, and even took her to the vet on my own.

That had been my routine for years: wake up, walk Mary, feed Mary, eat breakfast, go to school, come home, do schoolwork, eat dinner, go to sleep; but over the years, as things got too stiff and uptight at home, I would find myself walking her more than usual, just to get out of the house, to clear my head. I'd even walk her during my lunch time, if I needed to cool off.

"Didn't you hear..."

"Four new kids all in one..."

"The chief's kids..."

"All the way from Phoenix..."

"Why is she so pale?"

That's all I heard as I walked through the cafeteria. I did notice a few new faces back at my table.

"Jazzy!" said the girl with short black hair as she ran up to hug me. Alice is the only one who'd ever call me that, unless Rosalie had cut her hair and died it black in the past hour.

"Allie! You cut your hair! What are you doing here? I thought that you guys were still in Port Angeles!"

"We moved. I would have told you, but I wanted it to be a surprise!" She reached up to give me a small kiss on the lips. It wasn't passionate or affectionate, but it'd be sure to start gossip.

My eyes scanned the table as I searched for Edward. Suddenly, I saw a pair of piercing green eyes, smirking at the exchange between Alice and me. Clearly, he hadn't changed all that much.

"Hey Eddie, how have you been?" I asked him, knowing well how much he hated the nickname that Rose gave him when we were younger. He just smirked and went back to his lunch.

"So, we know everybody here except for you, so why are you sitting here?" Rosalie said rudely. The kid she was referring to had brown hair and brown eyes. He might have looked relatively simple, except for the fact that he was huge. I wasn't surprised though. He was on my basketball team in gym that morning, and he wasn't all that bad. "Rosalie!" Alice said.

"No, she's fine," a voice said suddenly. I turned to see a slim brunette with average height. She had the brownest eyes that gave me a strange craving for chocolate.

"Emmett is sitting here because he wanted to see if the blonde's here are as clueless as they were back in Phoenix. Congratulations, you've exceeded our expectations of stupidity! Any other questions, Blondie?" We all stood there, astounded. Nobody, ever stood up to Rosalie Hale and lived to tell the tale, yet this girl insulted her without the blink of an eye. "Well good. Emmett, are you coming to the library with me? We still have to do that essay."

"No, I think I'm going to stay here, as long as I'm safe..." he said, trailing off to look at me, as if asking permission.

"Oh, sure. Don't mind Rose. She's harmless." I turned to look at the mystery girl. "You can stay too. The library stays open late, so you'll have time to stay after school and work on it." I was truly hoping that she would stay. Her brown eyes went wide, swirling in confusion, as if the idea of me asking her to sit with us was absurd.

"No, I've got to get going. It was nice to meet you Jasper. Rosalie." She said Rose's name as if she'd already decided exactly what type of person she was, but I couldn't remember ever giving her my name.

She started walking away, but I couldn't let her leave. "I didn't catch your name, sweetheart," I said, flashing my million dollar smile.

She paused, turned around with a flip of her mahogany hair, walked up to me, and slapped me straight across the face.

"Well, it's not Alice."


	2. Chapter 2

******A/N: So, I'm not a great writer, and I'm constantly having to go back and edit it for stupid errors, so if you're reading this and are like "When did this happen?" Just send me a review, and I'll fix it for you.**

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**BPOV**

Who on earth did he think he was, hitting on me, when his girlfriend was actually watching him do it? Jessica was right. I'd make it a goal to stay away from that table. Jasper wasn't even anything special. Sure, his long blonde hair made him look like a rebel, and those blue eyes were deep enough to swim in, but that's not my game.

"Bella! Bella, what is wrong with you? He just wanted your name!" Emmett exclaimed, running after me.

"I promise you, Emmett. That is not all he wanted. Either way, he has Alice. I'm not getting involved." I rushed along, hoping he'd get tired of chasing me and go back to his stupid friends. But of course, this is Emmett we're talking about. He grabbed my wrist and turned me around.

"I don't care what you think, but I don't think Jasper and Alice are even together. They're old friends or something like that, and Alice just moved back in town. But it doesn't matter, what they are. You're going to apologize to the both of them. Okay?" He was serious now. Emmett would never hurt me, but he also wouldn't take no for an answer.

"He's trouble. I don't want anything to do with him!" I insisted, but it was impossible to win against his stupidly adorable deer eyes. "Fine. Whatever, but I'm not going out of my way for him."

"That's fine. I'll handle it for you! Have fun nerding!" he said before he ran off happily.

"Don't do anything too stupid!" I yelled after him, but he was too fast. I chuckled and walked into the library.

When I walked in, I noticed there was only one available computer there. I rushed to it, buts I found myself colliding into a hard chest instead. I could smell the cheap cologne on this kid, which meant it could only be...

"Bella! Do you remember me? It's Mike! From gym class this morning!" he said, once again sounding like a yappy dog, begging for a treat.

"Ughh...how could I not? You're quite..." I trailed off, struggling to find a way to describe this kid without being rude.

"Unforgettable," came a voice from behind me. I turned to see only another chest. Why can't the kids at this school be less tall? I'm not even short. I looked up to see the face of one of Jasper's friends, the one with the green eyes, and bronze hair. I was disappointed in my savior, but I did appreciate the rescue. I looked to see that the computer had been taken. I really needed to finish my essay, and apparently it showed. "If you'll excuse us, Mike, we have to get Bella to the lab to finish her history assignment."

"Okay, I'll see you in Biology later on. Bye, Bella." Mike left blushing.

"Thank you, but I didn't need your help," I huffed at the boy, remembering that I was supposed to be avoiding them. I walk in the opposite direction, mainly for fear that Mike will actually find the courage to come back

"Of course you didn't, which is why you were struggling to respectfully leave the conversation. I'm actually surprised that you had trouble being blunt, after the Rosalie episode," he said.

"She was being so rude to Emmett. I don't care how pretty and mean she is. She won't be picking on my family. She doesn't effect me." I really didn't want to talk about Blondie, and thankfully he got my hint.

"It's actually really sad that he didn't get it. You weren't being very subtle," he said, changing the subject.

"You think I'm an open book?" I said, offended. I didn't like the idea of him knowing what I was thinking all the time.

"I didn't say that, I said you weren't being subtle. Come on, I'll show you to class. There are always free computers in there anyways, so you won't be late either."

"How do you know which class I have next?" I said, suddenly suspicious. Maybe I was too open.

"Because Mike just said it. The question is why does he know what class you have?"

"I might have showed him my schedule. In retrospect, how was I supposed to know that he would be my human golden retriever?" I said, defensively.

"Oh, Bella, don't you know. You should never trust a pretty boy," he says with a beautiful smile, showing his pearly white teeth. If he were a vampire, I might have been scared.

"So, for future reference, tell me. Who exactly am I not trusting?" I said, playing along.

"Edward, Edward Masen." He looked down at his watch, and sighed. "Well, the bell's getting to ring, and this is our class."

"Our class?" I asked, wondering if he's just joking.

"Yes. So, as I was saying, class is getting ready to start, and I have a feeling that you're not up to hanging out with my friends. So, why don't you not trust me next Friday night?" he asked. I smiled and ignored the warning bells going off in my head. "How's seven 'o clock sound?"

"That sounds perfect.," I said and walked up to the teacher. He directed me to my seat, right next to Edward, and I took a moment to contemplate what just happened. _Do I, Isabella Marie Swan, have a date?_ I guess I did, but that wasn't the weird part.

_I have a date with a popular? _


	3. Chapter 3

******A/N: So, I'm not a great writer, and I'm constantly having to go back and edit it for stupid errors, so if you're reading this and are like "When did this happen?" Just send me a review, and I'll fix it for you.**

* * *

**JPOV**

I didn't understand why the girl, Bella, felt the need to slap me. And I know that her name wasn't Alice. Well, I didn't know, but I wasn't expecting her name to be Alice. All I did was call her sweetheart. It's not exactly flirting, but I could see why she would assume that it was. Did she think that me and Alice were involved? I haven't seen her in about seven months.

"So, Jasper. Sorry for Bella. She thought that you were involved with Alice, and I don't know if that's true or not, but it didn't give her a right to do that," Emmett started.

"No, it's fine. I shouldn't have come off the bat and flirted with her. I only got her name when you chased after her. I don't know her like that. I'm going to apologize to her the next chance I get," I honestly said. I couldn't get her out of my mind. I wanted to see her, and if apologizing was my excuse, then so be it.

"Are you sure? You didn't really do anything wrong." He looked at my stubborn face, and realized that he wasn't going to convince me. "Anyway. What do you know about Alice? Are you guys involved, because I don't want to start off being a back stabber?" he said nervously.

"Oh, no! Rosalie, Edward, Alice, and I grew up together before they moved. We always kept in touch, but it's been a while, so seeing them here was a bit surprising. Why, are you interested?" He went to deny it, but Sra. Rivas announced that class was getting ready to start.

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**BPOV**

I've never been one of those people to count down the end of school to the very last second, but today, that final bell couldn't come fast enough. I needed to lie down, and listen to Debussy. I walked out to the parking lot, and unlocked my truck, a gift from Dad. I rushed to get home before Emmett, because living in Forks meant sharing a bathroom. Normally, I'd just wait until after dinner, but I needed a nice hot bath. Luckily, Emmett had forgotten his key, which meant that it was a matter of who got up the stairs first, and Emmett would never push me down. Even if he did accidently, he would let me go out of guilt.

I took my bath, then got into some comfortable clothes. I wore my black yoga pants with the royal blue waste band and my black sports bra. I was clothed enough to go to the gym, so I opened my window, and let in the rare sun. I turned on my music, laid on my bed, and just relaxed.

Suddenly, something was wrong with my music. I realized I had fallen asleep. The music sounded warped. Like someone was yelling over it in slow motion.

"Bella! Bella! Is that you?" I could make it out now, but it wasn't my music. It was someone downstairs, outside my window. I leaned over and take a look, and I could barely make out his features, but I could see them.

His shoulder length blonde hair danced with the wind, but that's not what made me notice him. No, it was the eyes. Even in the dark that came while I was sleep, I could see him clearly. The moonlight made his eyes look not like a deep pool, but the ocean, full of life. Suddenly I was snapped back to reality as his large, white, dog barked at me.

"Jasper? What are you doing here? Are you stalking me?" I asked. _A popular_, I thought, _Why are you even talking to him?_

"I'm walking my dog, Mary. I live just up the street. The last house across the way with the blue door," he said, as if I'd ever need to know where he lived. He was trouble. I needed to leave as soon as I could. You said the same about Edward, but now you're supposed to be going out next week.

"Did you want something, other than waking me up from my nap?" I asked, rudely.

"Come down here. I have to say something to you." I hesitated, after all, I was supposed to be avoiding him. "Please," he pleads, with those sweet eyes of his. _Fighting dirty, I can do that. _

"Fine, but only because I want to," I said. _There, Bella. Doing exactly what he wanted, you showed him!_ I thought, sarcastically.

I made my way downstairs, and outside to King Creepy. _No_, I corrected, _Mike's King Creepy. Jasper has to be...Duke of Douches. There you go. Jasper, the Duke of Douches. _

I opened the door, and looked at him. "Do you need something?" I realized that I was still in my sports bra, and blushed. "Hold on." I closed the door, and searched the room for a shirt. Unfortunately, I was a tidy child, so I kept all my clothes where they were supposed to be. Emmett however, left plenty of clothes at my disposal. I swear, he spent more time in the morning figuring out what to wear than I did getting ready all together.

I threw on his shirt and walked outside, where I had left Jasper. "Talk, before I get bored," I said. I could be rude to some people. Irritating people, sometimes. Rude people, usually. Overly hopeful, but genuinely nice people like Mike, never. Popular people, however, always.

"Okay, well. I wanted to apologize for hitting on you at lunch today without knowing you very well. It was immature, and I'm sorry." Suddenly, I remembered that I promised Emmett that I would apologize for hitting him. _I guess now's the time._

"No, I just assumed that you were involved with Alice, so I wrote you off as a player. Sorry I hit you." I couldn't believe I did that. I was a strong, independent women. That meant I didn't apologize. Ever.

"So, can I call us friends?" he asked, wary.

"If you can't resist the urge to publicize it, I suppose it wouldn't be the end of the world." I was still curious as to his relationship to Alice, but I wasn't going to make it seem like I cared. Just because I forgave him didn't meant that he wasn't still a pigheaded jerk.

"Walk with me?" he asked. Coming down to see him was bad enough, but walking with him in the dark?

"I've got to go make dinner. I'm the only one in the house who can cook without burning down the house."

"Okay," he said with a chuckle. "Rain check then?" he said, hopefully.

"Of course." I'm not sure if I was being honest or not. We both turned to walk our separate ways, until his voice grabbed me, once again. "What, now?" I asked, feigning agitation.

"When you saw me walk in at lunch, that was just me and Alice catching up. I'm not seeing anyone at the moment," he said, as if that changed the status of our friendship.

"Oh and Jasper," I said as he started to walk away. "You owe me."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So, I'm not a great writer, and I'm constantly having to go back and edit it for stupid errors, so if you're reading this and are like "When did this happen?" Just send me a review, and I'll fix it for you. For example, I went back and changed CH. 3 a little, so now, Bella does know where Jasper lives. I promise she didn't just pull a random house out of nowhere. Enjoy :)**

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**BPOV **

I woke up that day happier than I'd ever been in a while. I got up happy and without complaint and proceeded with my morning routine. Shower, hair, makeup, get dressed, and then go downstairs.

To my surprise, Emmett was already awake. Dad, being the police chief of Forks, leaves before either of us are even due to wake up. Since he woke up so early, I decided to give him a choice of breakfast.

"Emmett, what do you want for breakfast? Anything you want, my treat." As I walked into the kitchen, I noticed something that definitely didn't belong.

"Bella, Bella! Look at what I found!" He said, gesturing at the dog that was sitting on the floor. "Her tag says Mary. Do you know anyone with a dog around here?"

"Yes, actually, I do. I'll take her home after breakfast okay?" I said with a laugh. Jasper must have been worried out of his mind.

Emmett decided that he wanted french toast that morning. We sat at the table and ate, and before I headed over to Jasper's, I even helped Emmett pack his backpack. I was planning to drive down the street, and then just go straight to school, but my car wouldn't start, so I was stuck walking. Thankfully, it was just down the street. Emmett had to finish getting ready, so I would meet him back at home and go with him this morning. All I had to do was remember where he lived. _"The last house across the way with the blue door,"_ I remembered with a start.

When I got to Jasper's house, I was blessed by Rosalie's shining morning face. She greeted me with a short "eew" and slammed the door on my face. "Jasper, that brunette is here!" she yelled, and then I heard her walking away.

I heard the door open, and I looked up to find Jasper, looking surprised. "Bella? What are you doing here?"

"I woke up, and Emmett said he had found Mary, so I said I'd take her over here." He was smiling at me in a very uncomfortable way, so I decided that it was time to make my escape. "Well, here. I've got to get back home before Emmett leaves me to walk to school."

"What about your truck?" he said.

"Did you watch me leave school yesterday?" I accused, suspiciously.

"I was at your house, Bella," he reminded me. "If you want, I could give you a ride."

"I'm not so sure. Your sister and I don't really get along, if you hadn't noticed."

"No, you're riding with me, and Rose will just have to take her car for once. Let me go grab my bag." He motioned for me to come inside, so I walked in cautiously, and sat down. Thinking back on it, I don't know why I brought my stuff to Jasper's in the first place. Maybe I was subconsciously hoping that that would happen.

He ran upstairs and down the hall. To his room, I guessed. Suddenly, a door slammed, and I heard a hushed conversation between Rosalie and Jasper. I assumed that she was complaining about my presence. I didn't blame her. We completely hated each other, but then I showed up at her house, asking for a ride to school. That was ridiculous.

I slowly inched my way up the stairs, planning to tell Jasper that I would find a ride, but when I looked down the hallway, I saw the two kissing, intensely. _That's his sister!_ I thought, but when I looked closer, I realized that that wild, and untamable mane didn't belong to Jasper. It was too short, and too..._red. _

Then I realized who exactly was locking lips with Rosalie. _Edward. _

* * *

**JPOV **

I came out of my room, and found Bella sitting at the top of the stairs, looking towards Rosalie's room. I looked over and saw her and Edward making out. I guess Bella didn't know they went out.

"Let's just leave them. They're practically inseparable," I whispered. We scurried down the stairs and jumped into my car.

"So, Rosalie and Edward. Tell me about that," she said. She didn't sound as bright and cheerful as she had when I had left her. Maybe she had a thing for Edward.

"Let's see," I said a little hurt. "They've been secretly dating for a little while. I don't know why, but I bet it's so they can still flirt with other people. Rose isn't all that bad, but Edward, he's a player." Admittedly, that was a little immature. Bad mouthing my best friend to keep a girl away from him? What was wrong with me? _She's just another girl._ I thought, but somehow I knew that it wasn't true.

"Oh really?" she said with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah. Why? Did you like Edward?" I asked, only half teasing.

"No, no. Of course not! I just didn't know. That's all," she said, with a blush so intense that you'd know she was lying. "So...Alice seems like a lot of fun. Maybe I should try to hang out with her sometime," she said, quickly changing the subject. Little did she know that she just cornered herself.

"Oh, yeah. Allie's loads of fun! You should sit with us at lunch today. You'll make loads of new friends," I said as I pulled into my normal parking spot. I got out of the car before she could respond, and walked around to open the door for her.

"I'm not so sure that's a great idea," she said with uncertainty. _If I had a dime for every time she's said that to me in the two days I've known her._

"It'll be fun! I promise! Rose won't do a thing. Please?" Realizing that I wouldn't leave her until she agreed, she tried to leave, but I grabbed her wrist. She turned back and I pulled her to me. I leaned in for a kiss...

"Bella! Bella! Come on! We've got gym!" Alice shouted.

"I didn't know you guys were friends like that," I said, regretfully pulling away from her.

"Well, we met yesterday, but that's all. She's right, I've got to go. First period gym has its disadvantages." She started to walk away, but she never agreed to have lunch with us.

"Please, come to lunch," I begged. _Jasper Hale, begging? What's going on here?_

"I'll think about it," she retorted with a smirk, but at least it sounded genuine.

_Oh Jasper, you're in for a wild ride._


	5. Chapter 5

**BPOV**

"So, I know we were in the same volleyball group yesterday, but we never really got to know each other," Alice said as we were changing in the locker rooms. She had said earlier that after yesterday, she ordered me personalized gym clothes to make up for confusing me. They'd wouldn't be there until the next day, but I wasn't complaining.

"Well, what do you want to know? I'm sure you already know by now that I'm quite uncoordinated, but there's not much to know, really," I said. "According to _someone_, I'm an open book," I muttered, mostly to myself, but she caught it anyway.

"You met a boy? Who is it?" Did she know about Jasper? No, how could she? There was nothing to know!

"What! No! Who said anything about a boy?" I said. _If there's nothing to know, then why be defensive?_

"Oh, so are you a lesbian? I'd be totally fine if you are, I just ask that you be honest with me because I was taught to accept everyone no matter how they live because wrong and right as simple as black and white. There _is _a gray area," she said with a matter-of-fact tone of voice. _Damn! This girl can talk!_

"No, I like boys, but that doesn't mean that there is one in my life right now." She glared at me.

"Girl please! You said 'someone' like you wanted to throw a knife at the wall, you got all defensive when I asked you, and you rode to school with him. You like him."

"Wait, are we talking about Jasper?" I asked. Maybe she did know after all. _No, because you were talking about Edward. A ride to school was just polite. _

"Nope. The other guy you slapped out of jealousy at lunch yesterday," she said sarcastically, making me feel guilty and angry all at once.

"He's single, so why should I be jealous of you?" I said, raising my voice a few octaves. "Okay, maybe I was a bit jealous, but there's nothing going on. He's not who I was talking about anyway," I sighed, defeated.

"So there is a guy!" she shouted, happy to get something out of me. I just laughed and headed towards the gym.

* * *

**JPOV**

I wish, for just one day, they'd join the two gym classes. Bella, Alice, Emmett, and I all had gym at the same time, but they split it into two groups: athletes, and...everyone else. Our side was mainly for the kids who did sports. We got pushed harder because we could handle it. Now, I wish I'd chosen to be lazy when I had the chance.

"Did you see Bella this morning? I was supposed to give her a ride, but she never came back home," Emmett asked as he came up to me.

"Yeah, she came by, so I gave her a ride," I said.

"Bella and Rosalie in a car together? Tell me, who survived?" he asked with a big laugh. Emmett really lived up to his size.

"I told Rose to take her car. I didn't want conflict."

"So, you really like her, don't you?"

"My sister? Em, you're gross!" I knew what he meant, but I didn't feel comfortable having this conversation with her huge older brother.

"Man, it's okay! Just don't hurt her. That _is _my sister," he suddenly turned serious.

"Get up, Ladies! Laps around the gym now!" the coach shouted, and we all began to run.

"Okay, whatever," I said, waving him off, but I really did think about what he'd said. I'd had a history of hurting girls before, not intentionally, but saying "It was an accident!" stops working somewhere around age three. Would I hurt her? Would _she_ hurt me? Questions filled my head to the very top, but there was still room for just one more. _Was she even interested?_

Well I guess we'll find out.

* * *

**BPOV**

Finally it was lunch time! I hadn't promised Jasper to lunch only because I didn't want to seem to eager, and trust me, I was all too eager. After math, I walked over towards the table where Jasper sat.

"Bella!" both Edward and Jasper said in sync. I stood there awkwardly, before I sat in between them.

"She already made her way around town?" Rosalie asked, pretending to be surprised.

"Rose, don't start," Jasper warned. She just rolled her eyes and went back to her salad.

"Okay, so on that happy note," Alice started, getting everyone's attention. "I'd like you all to know that I am having a party next week, and you're all invited!" She squealed happily and started passing out invitations. I wasn't exactly happy when I read mine.

" 'You are formally invited to the Masen-Brandon Black and White Ball.' " I looked up at her in guilt."It's bad enough that I'm invited. Do I really have to be _formally _invited?"

"What's wrong with that?" Alice said sadly, which only made me feel worse.

"Because, now that you've put so much effort into just the invitations, it makes it so much harder to say no," Emmett informed her.

"But why would you say no?" she said confused.

"In case you haven't already noticed, I'm not exactly a people person," I said.

"Oh, dear! That won't be a problem! I can help you find your dress and get ready, and your charming escort will take care of you. I'm sure of it!" she assured me.

"My escort?" I said cautiously. "Who'd want to escort _me_ to a ball?"

"I asked the same thing," Rosalie muttered.

"Glad to know we're on the same page, _Rose_," I retorted, knowing she'd hate me using her nickname.

"Just ignore her. Don't you want to know who your escort is?" Alice hinted. I motioned for her to continue. She only turned to look next to me. I followed her eyes, only to be met by a pair of blue ones.

"Jasper!"


	6. Chapter 6

**BPOV**  
_"Jasper!"_  
I turned to see a girl with long, curly, black hair. Her accent was clearly Hispanic. Her eyes were strange. They weren't quite green but they weren't quite brown either. I turned back to Jasper, but his eyes were focused on her.  
"What are you doing here?" Rosalie said, suddenly standing. She didn't look happy, as she did when Alice showed up. She looked as if she were ready to start a fight.  
"Oh, my when Vic told me that the gang was back together, I had to see it for myself!" she said, as if they were friends, which they clearly weren't.  
"And when did dearest _Vicky_ get back in town?" Edward asked angrily.  
"She's been here all year! Though, I'm not surprised you didn't recognize her. We both changed over the summer. Victoria, where are you?" she called out, as if calling to a child. Suddenly, a girl walked out, coming to stand next to the mystery girl.  
"_Red?_ You dyed your hair red? Why?" Alice asked incredulously.  
"I have to say, Edward inspired me," she said with a sarcastic smile. Her eyes turned to me. "And who is this? Eddie's new squeeze?" she said with a look of disgust.  
"I don't think she has anything to do with you," Jasper said, stepping in front of me. "Maria, you'd better leave. You're not allowed on school property."  
"Well, according to the main office, I'm here to visit my cousin while I'm in town. I hope that's okay. I don't want to complicate this love triangle," she noted, gesturing in between Edward, Jasper, and I. Only then did I notice that I was hiding behind Jasper while clutching on to Edward's hand. I stepped away from both of them, and moved closer to Maria and Victoria.  
"Look, I don't know who either of you are, or what your problems are," I started. "but please do me a favor. Cancel my subscription, because it's only been ten minutes, and I'm already over your issues." To say they looked shocked didn't even begin to describe it.  
"You obviously don't know who you're dealing wi-" Victoria started.  
"Shoo fly, don't bother me. And don't bother them either." They tried to stare me down, but I wasn't budging. Phoenix was the training ground for jocks and mean girls, but Forks had an infestation. They huffed and stormed off in their Jimmy Choo high heels, and I turned back to my table, happy to have that over with.  
Jasper seemed to be having a silent conversation with his sister, because they were exchanging weird looks and gestures. After about two minutes, Rosalie looked at me with signs of defeat.  
"Okay, I guess you're not the biggest pain in my ass," she said, trying to apologize.  
"Well, of course not. There's still Lauren, Jessica, Maria, and Victoria!" Alice said, making a joke of it.  
"We've got to go," Jasper stated bluntly, grabbing my bags and pulling me into the halls. We definitely earned a few stares. Why wouldn't we. Jasper Freaking Hale was pulling me out for a moment alone after defending me from his...Who were those girls? I had no idea, but I'd be sure to find out. There wasn't much story behind the confrontation, but I could definitely tell that Edward and Victoria had a history.  
We settled down at a bench in the courtyard. I looked up at Jasper to be met by pained eyes. "Are you okay?" He just looked at me. "Jasper?"  
"Shh, I'll be okay. Don't worry about me," he brought a hand up to stroke my hair. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."  
"Me, why wouldn't I be?" I was suddenly confused.  
"Well, we may be friends, but I wasn't so sure that you'd want me as an escort." I just looked down at my hands, not knowing how to respond. "I told Alice you wouldn't want to. Edward can take you, and I'll just find someone else."  
"No! I want to go with you, I just don't know if you had someone you'd want to go with. After all you know more people, and I don't even want to go in the first place. What was I thinking? Me, Bella Swan, at a ball? Ridiculous," I started to ramble, waving my arms around like a wild women until Jasper grabbed my hands, and held them in his own.  
"You will go to that ball with me. You will have fun with me and our friends. Everything will be fine." He said it with so much passion in his voice, that I suddenly calmed down.  
"I guess you're right." I looked down at my watch to see the time. "We've got ten minutes left of lunch. What do you want to do?"  
"Well, we'll go to my locker, then your locker, then your class. That should take up some time."  
"Alright then, lead the way!" I said happily. We stood up, and started to walk, when he stopped. "Jasper, what is it?" I asked, worried.  
"Why don't you hang out with me sometime?" he asked.  
"That'd be great. When?" I said, trying not to let my excitement show. Then, he said the worst thing imaginable.  
"How's next Friday sound?"


End file.
